Strike 1 (Andy Murray), Strike 2 (Rafa Nadal), and Strike 3 (Novak Djokovic)

I had a feeling it would end like this after the first couple of days. Rafa didn’t look so great, and Novak didn’t look so great. Andy looked like Andy for the most part… grimacing, muttering, not looking like a man who is ready to seize the moment.

Shortly thereafter, Andy pulled out, Rafa got dusted by Roger Federer, and Novak got dusted by David Ferrer. It is what prompted me to write my article on the High Price of Winning on the ATP. However that article was written before the effects of being the best for so many months were confirmed. Now that the top 3 seeds have all been knocked out of the tournament, I don’t think we need to see much more confirmation than that!

Moreover, it’s just kind of sad. In an event that bills itself as the showdown of the elite 8, the semifinals are pretty anti-climactic. Yes, the guys are all great (Federer, Tsonga, Ferrer, and Berdych). But this is not how it was supposed to end for either Novak or Rafa.

For Rafa this was supposed to be redemption: redemption from losing so many finals to the same man all season long with no solution in sight. But maybe this would be the event that would turn it all around and allow Rafa to exact some measure of revenge. Nope. A 1-2 record with his only win being a nail-biting third set tiebreak win over Mardy Fish wasn’t nearly enough to allow him to contest for the title.

For Novak, this was supposed to be the feather in the cap of his historic season. Already having been given all the trophies commensurate with his position at #1, this was going to be his final statement of a glorious season. Nope. A tough 3 set win in the first round over Tomas Berdych, only after saving a match point, was the only highlight of his week. His final loss to countryman Janko Tipsarevic today was the final blow.

Actually, the final blow came later when Berdych beat Ferrer. THAT was the moment Novak officially was knocked out of contention. His victory over Tomas would have put him into the semis over Berdych with the same 1-2 record. But unlike his loss to Novak and missing badly on a forehand for that lone match point, he seized the moment and came back in dramatic fashion to best Ferrer in 3. Bye bye Novak.

What was striking about both Rafa’s and Novak’s final press conferences was how they both said (in very different ways), that they had nothing left with which to compete. They were done. Lack of passion, lack of focus or competitive spirit, call it what you will. But they were both done and pretty much said so.

I can’t say too much about Andy Murray other than maybe, just maybe, he is the type of player who will mature and get it together as he gets older on the tour. His game is there, but mentally he is AWOL. If it hadn’t been a groin injury it would have been something else.

I don’t know who it’s more frustrating for during his matches: him or us! Maybe he really does want to win even if he sure doesn’t show it.

In any event, the semifinals are set with nary a top 3 player in place. Roger is probably feeling pretty about his chances to win his sixth title. It won’t be a gimme, but the tough and familiar foes are gone. They couldn’t sustain…again. And he stands alone among the top of the top players. Good for him! Not so good for the rest of us.

Maybe next year they will finally find a solution to the ongoing issue of late season injury and burnout on the tour. If not, we’ll continue to have year-end events that let us down in terms of showing us who’s the true top dog on the ATP tour. If David Ferrer or Jo-Wilfried Tsonga were to win, it would be great. But they’re not top dogs. The top dogs are gone until 2012.


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